Chapter 7: The Gathering Storm
2037 Words
Outside Ye Manor.
Ye Yu clasped his fists towards an elderly man and two middle-aged men. "Patriarch Jiang, Family Head Li, Family Head Zhang, my apologies. The Grand Elder is resting and cannot receive visitors at the moment. However, you are welcome to wait half an hour. He should awaken by then."
Li Family Head, Li Yu, narrowed his eyes. "Wait half an hour?"
Ye Yu nodded slightly, a faint smile on his lips. "Of course. Should the wait prove inconvenient, you are free to leave." With that, he turned and walked away.
The current Ye Family truly had no need to kowtow to these others. While their overall strength might still lag behind these three families, every Ye clansman held an unshakeable belief: in the near future, the Ye Family would soar to heights these clans could only look up to.
Watching Ye Yu depart, the expressions of Li Yu and the other two men darkened instantly.
Li Yu’s voice was icy. "The Grand Elder of Ye Manor certainly puts on grand airs!"
Qingcheng’s City Lord, Jiang Nian, spoke coolly, "With Ye Lang among them now, they naturally feel they can look down on the rest of us."
Beside him, Zhang Family Head, Zhang Lie, chuckled, a sharp edge to his mirth. "Truly, when one man ascends, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven. But this Grand Elder acts with such arrogance and lack of restraint. It bodes ill for the Ye Family itself." He turned to Li Yu and Jiang Nian. "Gentlemen, we hesitated before about forming an alliance. Now, it seems we have no choice."
Jiang Nian and Li Yu exchanged a glance. Within moments, all three nodded grimly. The Ye Family’s attitude had forced their hand.
Half an hour later, the trio entered the Ye Family’s Reception Hall.
The Grand Elder approached them, clasping his fists. "My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting. This old man has grown rather fond of sleep lately. I hope you can forgive the discourtesy."
Jiang Nian smiled politely. "Not at all, Grand Elder. We understand you’ve been very busy. Perfectly understandable."
The Grand Elder laughed heartily. "Come, come, please be seated."
Once the three were seated, the Grand Elder surveyed them. "Your joint visit today suggests significant business?"
Li Yu forced a smile. "Naturally, to offer congratulations! The Ye Family gaining a Chosen One is a joyous occasion for all of Qingcheng! Our felicitations!"
The Grand Elder smiled broadly. "Ye Lang’s awakening and the Heaven and Earth Phenomenon it summoned are blessings bestowed upon our Ye Family by the heavens." He lifted his teacup, took a measured sip, and continued, "Thank you for coming to congratulate Ye Lang."
At this point, Family Head Li Yu stood and bowed respectfully. "Grand Elder, many unpleasantries have occurred between our Li Family and the Ye Family in the past. We humbly ask for the Ye Family’s magnanimity."
Family Head Zhang Lie also rose and bowed. "Grand Elder, my Zhang Family has also given offense in past matters. We sincerely beg your indulgence and forgiveness."
The Zhang and Li families had once been bitter enemies of the Ye Family, especially the Zhangs – the previous Ye Family Heir had died by Zhang hands. Yet now, they were forced to bow their heads. The emergence of a Chosen One within the Ye Family, one capable of summoning a Heaven and Earth Phenomenon, demanded it. Failure to submit now could mean losing their heads later.
The Grand Elder sipped his tea, offering no response.
His silence instantly thickened the atmosphere, making it heavy and tense.
Zhang Lie glanced towards City Lord Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian offered a thin smile. "Grand Elder, we are all citizens of Qingcheng. Qingcheng is but a tiny place; we constantly cross paths. Friction is inevitable. With the Ye Family destined to rise, your true rivals will surely be the great clans of the wider world, wouldn’t you agree?"
The Grand Elder’s smile widened slightly. "Since Brother Jiang speaks, what can I say? How about this: The Ye Family has struggled financially in recent years. Grant us exclusive gold mine mining rights around Qingcheng for the next decade. What say you?"
The faces of the men before him instantly darkened, twisting into masks of barely suppressed rage.
Gold mines!
The very lifeblood of Qingcheng’s noble families! Their conflicts stemmed directly from these mines. Each newly discovered vein sparked bloody struggles; no family relinquished their claim willingly. Gold represented resources. Without resources, a family’s elders couldn’t cultivate, its youths couldn’t be nurtured. Decline and eventual extinction were certainties.
Now, the Ye Family demanded a ten-year monopoly. It meant the other families would have no income for a decade! While not extinction, it condemned them to a decade of scraping by, barely surviving.
Nearby, Qingcheng City Lord Jiang Nian looked at the Grand Elder, saying nothing, merely sipping his tea.
But his eyes held glacial coldness.
Not just Jiang Nian, the expressions of the other two were equally grim. They had anticipated being fleeced, but not so savagely.
The Grand Elder glanced around the room, his smile unwavering. "Rest assured, gentlemen. In ten years, Ye Lang will likely have ascended to become a Person from the Mountain Sects. By then..." He trailed off with a soft chuckle.
Jiang Nian and the others visibly stiffened.
Person from the Mountain Sects!
This referred to those powerful reclusive sects. The Grand Elder’s words were an unambiguous threat. Once Ye Lang joined such a force, obliterating their families could be done with a mere flick of his wrist.
The realization struck them like a physical blow. Jiang Nian exchanged a final, grim look with the others. Finally, Jiang Nian stood and bowed. "Since the Ye Family faces difficulties, the Qingcheng mining rights for the next decade shall be yours."
The Grand Elder clasped his fists in return, his smile triumphant. "We are most grateful."
Jiang Nian nodded curtly. "Then we take our leave." The three turned and departed.
As soon as they left, Ye Yu hurried into the hall, his expression troubled. "Grand Elder! You’ve thoroughly antagonized them!"
"Antagonize?" The Grand Elder snorted coldly. "Why should we fear antagonizing them now? Once Ye Lang becomes a Person from the Mountain Sects, crushing them will be a matter of moments. Demanding only ten years of mining rights is an act of supreme mercy!" With a dismissive flick of his sleeve, he turned and strode out.
Outside Ye Manor.
The moment Jiang Nian, Li Yu, and Zhang Lie stepped beyond the manor gates, their expressions contorted with fury.
"Outrageous!" Zhang Lie snarled, his voice thick with venom. "The Ye Family, gaining power for but a moment, seeks to eradicate us completely!"
Li Yu’s tone was icy. "That Ye Lang is a Chosen One who summoned a Heaven and Earth Phenomenon! With him, the Ye Family spurns not just us, but even the City Lord’s authority!"
Jiang Nian shook his head. "Enough. For now, we must swallow this indignity, whether we wish to or not. Return to your estates. We will observe. Do not act rashly. Remember: no flower stays red for a hundred days. With the Ye Family acting so arrogantly and tyrannically, their day of reckoning will come!" With that, the three figures vanished from the manor entrance.
Following the capitulation of the Li and Zhang families, along with the City Lord’s office, the entire Ye Family swelled with conceit!
Before, facing these powers, the Ye Family had practically bowed and scraped. Now, empowered by Ye Lang, every clansman walked with supreme confidence. Many Ye disciples already proclaimed themselves Qingcheng’s foremost noble house. Not just the youths – even the Elders held this view.
Ye Lang was cradled in the palm of their collective hand. And now, whispers turned towards Ye Xuan.
"Have you heard? That Ye Xuan hasn't left his courtyard in ages."
"Dare he? Among Qingcheng's youth now, who fears Ye Lang? No – within the entire Jiang Kingdom’s younger generation, Brother Ye Lang stands among the very peak! As for Ye Xuan... he’s not even worthy to polish Brother Ye Lang’s shoes."
"True. Pity. If only he’d knelt and apologized, he might have kept his life."
"Who cares about him? Know how glorious it feels to be a Ye clansman outside these walls now? Yesterday, I ran into a Zhang Family young master. I slapped him right across the face! He didn’t even dare fart!"
"Hah! Yesterday, at the Yichun House, I saw the Li Family Heir. His eyes used to only see Ye Xuan. But yesterday? I told him to get lost! He scurried off without a single protest! Utterly satisfying!"
"You said it! Qingcheng belongs to the Ye Family now. All thanks to Brother Ye Lang! Come, let’s go pay our respects to Brother Ye Lang..."
Within the Prison of Worlds Tower.
Sweat poured down Ye Xuan’s face as he hacked and slashed relentlessly with the Lingxiao Sword. He trained with ferocious intensity.
For Ye Xuan, becoming a Sword Cultivator was paramount. Raised alongside his younger sister, he understood the brutal importance of strength. The recent betrayal had hammered this truth home: Lose your power, and you’re worth less than a stray dog!
Despite all he had sacrificed and accomplished for the Ye Family, they discarded him without a second thought.
A man could only rely on himself!
Inside the tower, Ye Xuan had lost count of the strikes he’d unleashed. He could now cleave a falling hair – a true mark of a Sword Cultivator.
But it wasn’t enough! His mastery over speed and power only placed him as an average Sword Cultivator. The realm of a Great Sword Cultivator still lay frustratingly out of reach!
Time flowed differently within the tower. Cultivation made days vanish. Suddenly, only three days remained before the one-month life-and-death agreement!
That day, Ye Xuan exited the tower. He immediately frowned. His sister, Ye Ling, always brought his meal at this time.
Trouble?
He bolted to Ye Ling’s room. There she lay, trembling violently on her bed, white frost clinging to her hair!
Shock tore through Ye Xuan. He rushed to her side, pulling out a White Jade Vial. It was empty!
The pills were gone!
"Damn it!" Ye Xuan slammed his palm against his own forehead. "i***t! Forgot the pills ran out!" He struck himself again, harder. Then, his hands trembling, he gently rubbed Ye Ling’s icy cheeks. "Hang on... Wait for me, Little Ling. I'll be right back!" He exploded from the room like a madman, sprinting towards the Ye Manor’s medicine hall.
"Ye Xuan’s out!"
The cry went up among the Ye disciples loitering outside. Gossipmongers flocked towards him, eager to gawk. In the past, they wouldn't have dared. But now, riding Ye Lang’s coattails, their fear of Ye Xuan had evaporated.
En route, a group of Ye disciples blocked his path. Leading them was Ye Feng, the Grand Elder’s grandson and Ye Lang’s cousin.
Ye Feng looked Ye Xuan up and down, a mocking grin spreading. "Ye Xuan! Finally crawled out of hiding? What brings you out today?"
Ye Xuan ignored them, pushing forward towards the medicine hall. Ye Feng flashed a step, blocking him again. "So urgent, Ye Xuan? Is that sickly sister of yours finally kicking the bucket? If so, congratulations! You’ll finally be rid of that deadweight..."
At that moment, Ye Xuan lunged. Ye Feng barely registered the movement before a fist slammed into his throat.
CRACK!
The sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed. Every disciple froze, petrified.
Ye Feng’s eyes bulged wide, the whites filling with ruptured blood vessels.
Before anyone could react, Ye Xuan’s dagger flashed from his waist. He severed Ye Feng’s head in one brutal stroke.
SHINK!
The head thudded to the floor.
Ye Xuan sheathed his dagger, his gaze sweeping the stunned disciples like a rabid beast. "One more insult against my sister," he snarled, his voice dripping venom, "and I guarantee you'll never speak another word for the rest of your miserable lives
- Writer
